Help with identifying plane and where photo was taken

[Billie T.]

Hello Everyone,

I believe that this plane is called a Dornier 280 and that it was first built in in Germany in 1959.

Having said that, I am no expert on planes and I am very much open to other opinions.

The pilot's name is Merv Langille, who was originally from Nova Scotia. He died in a plane crash in Iran in 1977. However, I have no idea of who is with him or – more importantly – where this photo was taken. As you can see from the "very little" terrain in the photo that the land looks very bare and I don't see any trees.

Then I looked closely at the passenger's coat sleeve and I believe that the coloured band around the sleeve appears to be possibly of aboriginal origin. But, that's just my opinion.

With some help from "Bobo" and others on AVCANADA, I now know that Langille flew in northern Quebec, Labrador and Newfoundland and the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay.

So I'm guessing that this photo was taken in one of those areas. Having said that, all – and any – help would be appreciated.

Thanks – again.

Bill Thompson
Journalist from Kitchener, Ontario

[slowstream]

Showing the Photo may help Bill..... if you want help

[PilotDAR]

Showing the Photo may help

Oh good, I was worried I was not noticing something I should.....

[bizjets101]

[linecrew]

Without seeing the picture, based on your brief description, I would guess that the plane would be a Dornier D0-28 Skyservant which first flew in '59.

[dave_091]

Now thats funny!

[Siddley Hawker]

The Skyservant was the D model with bigger engines and higher gross weight.

The Dornier you are looking for was a DO28-B and was one of three acquired by Wheeler Airlines in the very early 1960's. They were registered sequentially, CF-WAL, WAM and WAN. The original purchase filled a niche out of Wheeler's base in Frobisher Bay where - among other duties - they were used to the supply the Pine Tree Line radar site on Resolution Island at the mouth of Frobisher Bay. At the time the strip was only 12 or 1500 feet long and the site operator had become leery of single engine operations over the open water with the Otter Eastern Provincial Airways had been using. That's the gist of it.

Wheeler flew them on floats, wheel/skis and for at least one season one of them was on tundra tires out of Frobe. WAL went up on its nose while landing on the grass on floats at Wheeler's base at St. Jean-sur-Richelieu. WAM was written into a ball on a test flight after an inspection when the aileron cables were cross connected, leaving WAN as the surviving example. When Wheeler closed shop we (Northern Wings) inherited the flyable one plus the two wrecks. During the winter of 1968-69 - or maybe it was 69-70 memory fails - Quebecair, Wings' parent company, moved the two wrecks to their hangar at Dorval and two Wings mechanics, Bill Gallichon and Raymond Levesque, rebuilt WAM using parts from both crashed machines. WS flew them for a couple of years then got rid of them when they became Regionair and transferred the bush outfit to Fecteau. WAM went out west someplace, I think there's a photo of her in the gallery section of this board, and the other one eventually wound up in Israel.

Shell Oil also flew the Doorknob somewhere out west, maybe the McKenzie delta?

Edited to add, if you get the pic up I could probably tell you where it was taken. In addition to Frobisher, Wheeler flew them out of Fort Chimo and Ste. Jovite. To my knowledge they never flew out of Goose.

[bmc]

I was into plane spotting from the age of 8. My dad brought home some booklet with three view drawings of different single engine planes. Growing up in Chomedy, north of Montreal, we were under the leg to join the circuit for Cartierville. That got me looking skyward.

I remember seeing one of those Dornier's on floats go right over the house westbound. I also have memories of seeing 2-3 CL84 test flights go overhead and countless Argus, T-33 and CF-104's. But that's another story.

[Siddley Hawker]

bmc I joined that Nordair group. I then got an email from Pete the Beef and they want to borrow my model of FBJ, that C-46E that was lost at Peribonka, for a Nordair exhibit this summer in UL.

[Billie T.]

Hello Everyone,

My apologies. I thought I had attached the photos. On the bright side, I received two more today and I believe that one of the photos has more clues as to what type of plane and where the photo was taken.

On one of the photos it has the wording "ailes du nord" and I believe that the letters at the back are "CF-WAM".

I'll make sure the photos are attached this time.

Thank you again.

Bill Thompson

[bizjets101]

http://www.aeroenterprises.net/dornier- ... kyservant/

http://www.aeroenterprises.net/

[Siddley Hawker]

Billie T that is indeed WAM and it's in Wheeler's last paint scheme of yellow and black but with the Northern Wings (les ailes du nord) titles and logo so the picture was taken after the aircraft changed ownership. As for the location I have no idea, the Arctic someplace. I also checked my logbooks and it was WAN and not WAM that was rebuilt in the winter of 1972. Your picture must have been taken in either 1973 or 1974. I left Wings in 1973, and I don't remember Merv. Sorry for giving you a bum steer there.

Bizjets you are obviously right about the Skyservant, although I have never heard the A or B model called that. Here's the fugly bugger we knew as a Skyservant back in the day.

[oldtimer]

As I recall, the Alberta Government as well as Northward Aviation also operated the DO 28. I seem to remember the Alta Govt airplane crashed near Hinton or Edson sometime in the late 70"s. Also, a Skyservant factory demonstrator crashed at a Calgary air show around the same time frame.

[TimothyK]

I'm 98% positive this was taken in the hamlet of Arctic Bay when there was no airport. I know they used the road to Nanisivik as well.

[Waldo Peppar]

bmc I joined that Nordair group. I then got an email from Pete the Beef and they want to borrow my model of FBJ, that C-46E that was lost at Peribonka, for a Nordair exhibit this summer in UL.

Was there ever a C46 built that had a nose that looked like a DC-3? I had never heard of or seen one...but I haven't seen everything yet!

[CD]

The C-46E was an improved version of the basic C-46 design incorporating features first tested on the XC-46B and production improvements of the C-46D.

The Army Air Forces ordered 550 E model aircraft, but only 17 were completed before the contract was canceled because of World War II. The C-46E had the same stepped nose first included on the XC-46B. The plane had upgraded versions of the Double Wasp radial engine, also. The -75 engines generated 2,000 hp each and allowed the aircraft to cruise at greater than 175 mph. The C-46D included cargo doors on both sides of the aft fuselage, but the E model had only a single door on the left side -- similar to the C-46A configuration.

Larger, hi-res photo available here... National Museum of the US Air Force

[Waldo Peppar]

I had no idea such a beast had existed!
Thanks for that "CD"
WP

[Skyhunter]

I actually think it is the Mary River Iron mine. I will check some photos I have and compare.

Edited to change my mind and agree probably Arctic Bay after looking at some photos

[Billie T.]

TomothyK, you amaze me. I agree with you after seeing your photo of Arctic Bay. And I see that Skyhunter agrees, as well.

You guys amaze me.

Many Thanks
Bill Thompson

[bmc]

TomothyK, you amaze me. I agree with you after seeing your photo of Arctic Bay. And I see that Skyhunter agrees, as well.

You guys amaze me.

Many Thanks
Bill Thompson

I've been hanging around here for a few years and I continue to impressed by the knowledge here.